Impact of Internet in Library and Information Science

DEFINITION
What is Internet?
* “the mother of all networks” * It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks, of local to global scope, that are linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless and optical networking technologies. * Also known as “net”

* INTERnational NETwork * Worldwide computer network that connects hundreds of thousands of smaller networks. * It is a system of interconnected computers all over the world that enables them to store information with each other.

BACKGROUND
How did the Internet get started?The history of the Internet begins in 1957 when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first man – made satellite. In response to this display of Soviet superiority, the U.S. government resolved to improve its scientific and technical infrastructure. One of the resulting initiatives was the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). ARPA swung into action with a project designed to help scientists communicate and share valuable computer resources. The ARPAnet, created in 1969, connected computers at UCLA, Stanford Research Institute, University of Utah, and University of California at Santa Barbara. In 1985, the National Science Foundation (NSF) used ARPAnet technology to create a larger network, linking not just a few mainframe computers, but entire LANs at each site. Connecting two or more networks creates an internetwork, or internet. The NSF network was an internet (with a lowercase i). As this network grew throughout the world, it became known as the Internet (with an uppercase I). Early Internet pioneers – mostly educators and scientists – used primitive command – line user interfaces to send e –mail, transfers files, and run scientific calculations on Internet supercomputers. Finding information was not easy. Without search engines, Internet users relied on word of mouth and e – mail to keep informed about new data...